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| Dendrelaphis beddomei Ganesh, Poornaprajna, Mallik & Vogel, 2026 |
We describe a new species of the genus Dendrelaphis from the Western Ghats of India. This species has previously been confused with the poorly known endemic species Dendrelaphis grandoculis. We redescribe and illustrate D. grandoculis based on its lectotype, paralectotypes, and both historical and recent materials. We re-diagnose D. grandoculis sensu stricto by describing the new species Dendrelaphis beddomei sp. nov. This new species mainly inhabits the low-elevation windward slopes of the Western Ghats. We describe it based on two type specimens and a few live, uncollected individuals, supported by citizen-science photo posts. It is differentiated from D. grandoculis by its much higher subcaudal count, red tongue, longer loreal, smaller 2nd postocular, and frequent presence of a white ventrolateral stripe as well as bold black dorsal blotches.
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| Dendrelaphis beddomei sp. nov. |
Dendrelaphis beddomei
Beddome’s Bronzeback
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| Dendrelaphis grandoculis (Boulenger, 1890) |
Dendrelaphis grandoculis (Boulenger, 1890)
S.R. Ganesh, Poornaprajna S N, Ashok Kumar Mallik and Gernot Vogel. 2026. A New Species of Dendrelaphis (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Western Ghats, related to D. grandoculis, with a revised Identification Key to southern Indian species. TAPROBANICA The Journal of Asian Biodiversity. 15(2); DOI: doi.org/10.47605/tapro.v15i2.436 [12 November 2026]
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